Apparatus for measurement of woman&#39;s body

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is an apparatus for measurement of woman&#39;s body, comprising: a body parameter input unit; a menstruation date input unit; a physical condition phase estimation unit; and a display unit. According to the present invention the body parameter input unit enters the body parameter of a person under test, and the menstruation date input unit enters the date of menstruation of the person under test. Furthermore, the physical condition phase estimation unit estimates the phase of physical condition of the person under test to which the measurement day belongs, based on the date of menstruation of the person under test entered by the menstruation date input unit and the formulas for estimation of phase of body condition. Moreover, the display unit, after determining any change in body parameter based on the body parameter entered by the body parameter input unit, displays the advice information effective for the person under test to pay attention in living on that measurement day, based on the change in body parameter determined and on the phase of physical condition of the person under test to which the measurement day belongs and estimated by the physical condition phase estimation unit.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to an apparatus for measurement ofwoman's body having capability of informing a woman user of her physicalcondition indicated by the different phases repeated with a period ofone month such as menstruation phase, diet phase, before-and-afterovulation phase, PMS (Premenstrual Syndrome) prevention phase and PMSphase.

[0003] 2. Prior Art

[0004] The woman's physical condition indicated by the different phasesrepeated with a period of one month is intimately related to the basalbody temperature, and it has been well known that the basal bodytemperature is transferred from low temperature term to high temperatureterm after passing across the boundary of ovulation day, and thentransferred from high temperature term back to low temperature termafter passing across the boundary of menstruation start day. In thepast, such relation has been utilized in such manner that the progressof the basal body temperature of a woman is measured with a clinicalthermometer for women at getting-up time in every morning and manuallyrecorded on a list or a graph for determining the physical condition orthe phase of the woman in which she is currently positioned.

[0005] The prior art measurement of basal body temperature using theclinical thermometer for women, as described above, is defective in thatthe measurement is very cumbersome and the greater burden is imposed toa person under test. Even if a person desires to only know the number ofdays during a menstruation period she must record by herself forcomplicated calculation of the days.

[0006] Furthermore, the previous measurement apparatus for body weight,percent fat, etc. have been designed to only display the measurementresult of body weight or percent fat. The previous apparatus couldproduce no advice information based on the body weight or percent fat inconnection with the menstruation period, despite of the intimaterelation present therebetween.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus formeasurement of woman's body that can solve the prior art problem asdescribed above, that makes possible for everybody to rapidly and easilyknow the physical condition indicated by the different phases includingPMS (Premenstrual Syndrome) phase repeated with a period of one month,and that can give the advice information to a person under test aboutany optimum nutritive substance to be ingested and/or any proper actionto be taken on that measurement day, based on the physical condition,the percent fat, etc.

[0008] According to one aspect of the present invention there isprovided an apparatus for measurement of woman's body, comprising: abody parameter input unit; a menstruation date input unit; a physicalcondition phase estimation unit; and a display unit, wherein

[0009] said body parameter input unit enters the body parameter of aperson under test,

[0010] said menstruation date input unit enters the date of menstruationof the person under test,

[0011] said physical condition phase estimation unit estimates the phaseof physical condition of the person under test to which the measurementday belongs, based on the date of menstruation of the person under testentered by said menstruation date input unit and the formulas forestimation of phase of body condition, and

[0012] said display unit, after determining any change in body parameterbased on the body parameter entered by said body parameter input unit,displays the advice information effective for the person under test topay attention in living on that measurement day, based on the change inbody parameter determined and on the phase of physical condition of theperson under test to which the measurement day belongs and estimated bysaid physical condition phase estimation unit.

[0013] In one embodiment of the present invention said body parameterincludes at least one of the body weight, percent fat or body fat mass,blood pressure and pulse rate.

[0014] In another embodiment of the present invention said phase ofphysical condition includes a menstruation phase, a diet phase, abefore-and-after ovulation phase, a PMS prevention phase and a PMSphase.

[0015] In further embodiment of the present invention said phase ofphysical condition includes a menstruation phase, a diet phase, a PMSprevention phase and a PMS phase.

[0016] In yet further embodiment of the present invention said phase ofphysical condition includes a menstruation phase, a diet phase and a PMSphase.

[0017] In yet further embodiment of the present invention said change inbody parameter includes a rate of change in body parameter.

[0018] In yet further embodiment of the present invention said adviceinformation includes the information about nutrition to be ingested bythe person under test and about action to be conducted by the personunder test.

[0019] According to another aspect of the present invention there isprovided an apparatus for measurement of woman's body, comprising: atleast one of a body weight input unit, a body fat input unit forentering body far rate or body fat mass, a blood pressure input unit anda pulse rate input unit; a physical condition estimation unit; and adisplay unit, wherein

[0020] said physical condition estimation unit estimates the physicalcondition on the measurement day, based on the date of menstruationentered and the formulas for estimation of phase of body condition,

[0021] said display unit displays various kinds of advice informationabout an action, nutrition and the like optimized to the physicalcondition on the measurement day, based on at least one of the change inbody weight provided by the body weight input unit, the change inpercent fat or body fat mass provided by the body fat input unit, thechange in blood pressure provided by the blood pressure input unit andthe change in pulse rate provided by the pulse rate input unit, as wellas based on physical condition estimated.

[0022] In one embodiment of the present invention said physicalcondition is at least one of a menstruation phase, a diet phase, abefore-and-after ovulation phase, a PMS prevention phase and a PMSphase.

[0023] In another embodiment of the present invention said physicalcondition is at least one of a menstruation phase, a diet phase and aluteal phase.

[0024] In further embodiment of the present invention said body weightinput unit includes keys for manually entering the body weight value.

[0025] In yet further embodiment of the present invention said bodyweight input unit is a body weight meter.

[0026] In yet further embodiment of the present invention said body fatinput unit includes keys for manually entering percent fat or body fatmass.

[0027] In yet further embodiment of the present invention said body fatinput unit is a body fat meter.

[0028] In yet further embodiment of the present invention said bloodpressure input unit includes keys for manually entering blood pressurevalue.

[0029] In yet further embodiment of the present invention said bloodpressure input unit is a blood pressure meter.

[0030] In yet further embodiment of the present invention said pulserate input unit includes keys for manually entering pulse rate.

[0031] In yet further embodiment of the present invention said pulserate input unit is a pulse rate meter.

[0032] In yet further embodiment of the present invention said displayunit includes an LCD element that displays at least one of body weight,percent fat, body fat mass, blood pressure and pulse rate, and aplurality of LED elements that display the physical condition of awoman.

[0033] In yet further embodiment of the present invention said displayunit includes a display area of compact size on which at least one ofbody weight, percent fat, body fat mass, blood pressure and pulse rate;as well as the measurement day, position of the measurement day relativeto the menstruation day, the number of days elapsed since themenstruation day up to the measurement day, the number of days duringthe previous menstruation period and the name of physical condition aredisplayed.

[0034] In yet further embodiment of the present invention said displayunit includes a display area of compact size on which a graphrepresenting at least one of the change in body weight, change inpercent fat, change in body fat mass, change in blood pressure andchange in pulse rate during a menstruation period; as well as themeasurement day, position of the measurement day relative to themenstruation day, the number of days elapsed since the menstruation dayup to the measurement day, and the number of days during the previousmenstruation period are displayed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035] The present invention will be described in more detail withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0036]FIG. 1 is an external view of an apparatus for measurement ofwoman's body according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[0037]FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating functional elements of theapparatus for measurement of woman's body, as shown in FIG. 1;

[0038]FIG. 3 is a main flow chart illustrating a procedure for givingadvice information to a person under test, based on the physicalcondition of the person and the measurement result according to thepresent invention;

[0039]FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating the procedure ofinitialization;

[0040]FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating the procedure of entering thedate of menstruation;

[0041]FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating the procedure of measurement;

[0042]FIG. 7 is a view illustrating the relation between the physicalcondition and the number of days elapsed since previous menstruation;

[0043]FIG. 8 is a view illustrating one example of calculation formulasfor determining the physical condition;

[0044]FIG. 9 is a view illustrating one example of advice informationaccording percent fat and the physical condition;

[0045]FIG. 10 is a view illustrating one example of display on thedisplay unit;

[0046]FIG. 11 is a view illustrating another example of display on thedisplay unit;

[0047]FIG. 12 is a view illustrating further example of display on thedisplay unit;

[0048]FIG. 13 is a view illustrating one example of a display unitformed by an LCD element and a plurality of LED elements;

[0049]FIG. 14 is a view illustrating another example of a display unitformed by an LCD element and a plurality of LED elements;

[0050]FIG. 15 is an external view of an apparatus for measurement ofwoman's body according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

[0051]FIG. 16 is an external view of an apparatus for measurement ofwoman's body according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

[0052]FIG. 17 is an external view of an apparatus for measurement ofwoman's body according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention;

[0053]FIG. 18 is an external view of an apparatus for measurement ofwoman's body according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention;

[0054]FIG. 19 is a view illustrating another example of calculationformulas for determining the physical condition;

[0055]FIG. 20 is a view illustrating further example of calculationformulas for determining the physical condition; and

[0056]FIG. 21 is a view illustrating another example of adviceinformation according to blood pressure (or pulse rate) and the physicalcondition.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0057]FIG. 1 is an external view of an apparatus for measurement ofwoman's body according to one embodiment of the present invention. Asshown in FIG. 1, the apparatus for measurement of woman's body 10comprises a bioelectrical impedance meter 20 with a weight meterincluded therein, and a control box 40 connected to the bioelectricalimpedance meter 20 through the wireless communication using infraredray, electromagnetic wave, etc.

[0058] In this embodiment the bioelectrical impedance meter 20 isconnected to the control box 40 via the wireless communication usinginfrared ray, electromagnetic wave, etc., as described above. However,they may be connected to each other via a typical electrical cable.

[0059] Arranged on the top surface of the bioelectrical impedance meter20 are constant current supplying electrodes 21 a, 21 b and voltagemeasurement electrodes 22 a, 22 b. Mounted on the front surface of thecontrol box 40 are a group of operation keys such as a power key 41 a, ameasurement key 41 b, a record key 41 c, a menstruation key 41 e, adetermination key 41 f, a selection key 41 g, a cancel key 41 h, a resetkey 41 i and a direction key 41 j. In addition, a display unit 42 isalso mounted on the front surface of the control box 40. As can be seenin FIG. 1, the direction key 41 j consists of “→” key, “←” key, “↑”keyand “↓” key.

[0060]FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating functional elements of theapparatus for measurement of woman's body, as shown in FIG. 1. As shownin FIG. 2, the bioelectrical impedance meter 20 with a weight meterincludes constant current supplying electrodes 21 a, 21 b, ahigh-frequency constant current circuit 23 for producing a weakhigh-frequency constant current fed to the constant current supplyingelectrodes 21 a, 21 b, voltage measurement electrodes 22 a, 22 b, avoltage measurement circuit 24 for measuring the voltage across thevoltage measurement electrodes 22 a, 22 b, a body weight measuring unit25 for measuring the body weight of a person under test, an A/Dconverter 28 for A/D converting the measured voltage and body weight,and a wireless communication section 29.

[0061] The control box 40 includes a data input unit 41 having a groupof operation keys 41 a to 41 j for entering a measurement start command,a menstruation phase data, etc., a display unit 42 for displaying themeasured percent fat, body fat mass, body weight, etc., and thedetermined physical condition, etc., a clock unit 43 for determining thedate and time of measurement, and a memory unit 44 for storing themeasured percent fat, body fat mass, the determined date and time, etc.The control box 40 further includes a CPU 45 for evaluating the physicalcondition of a woman repeated substantially for a period of one monthand for determining the corresponding advice information, based on themenstruation phase data entered by the input unit 41 and the measuredpercent fat, body fat mass, body weight, etc. The CPU 45 furthercontrols storage of various data to the memory unit 44 and display ofvarious data on the display unit 42. In addition, a wirelesscommunication section 46 is included in the control box 40.

[0062] In this embodiment the functional elements are grouped to beseparately included in the bioelectrical impedance meter 20 and thecontrol box 40. However, the present invention is not limited to suchconfiguration. For example, the CPU 45 may be included in thebioelectrical impedance meter 20, not in the control box 40.Furthermore, the bioelectrical impedance meter 20 may be integral withthe control box 40.

[0063] An operation of the apparatus for measurement of woman's bodyaccording to the embodiment as above will now be described in moredetail.

[0064] FIGS. 3 to 6 are flow charts illustrating the operation of theapparatus for measurement of woman's body according to the presentinvention. First of all, the main program for operation of the apparatuswill be described with reference to FIG. 3. In step S1 a person undertest depresses a power key 41 a to turn ON the apparatus for measurementof woman's body 10. In step S2 the initialization is performed. Theprocess of initialization will be described later in more detail.

[0065] After depressing a menstruation key 41 e or a measurement key 41b the program proceeds to step S3 or S4 respectively.

[0066] In step S3 the date of menstruation is entered. The process willbe described later in detail. In step S4 the measurement is performed.In particular the body weight and the bioelectrical impedance of aperson under test is measured and the result is displayed, as describedlater in detail.

[0067] In step 5 an auto-power off timer is counted up. The timer isreset upon power up or by the key operation. In step 6 a check is madeto determine whether the predetermined time period has been passed. Ifnot, the program returns to step S5. In step S7 the power is turned OFF.

[0068] Next, the process of initialization (step S2) will be describedin detail with reference to FIG. 4. The initialization is performed onlywhen the power key is depressed for the first time or the reset key isdepressed. The determination of whether the power key is depressed forthe first time is made in any commonly known method. For example, avariable called “an initialization flag” is provided, and it is set whenthe initialization is performed. Then, the flag is tested at the firststep in which the initialization is to be performed. If it is found thatthe flag has been set then no further initialization is performed.

[0069] In step S21 the internal variables are initialized. In step S22the inside clock is set at the current date and time. In step S23 thedate of previous menstruation and the number of days during themenstruation period are entered if the person under test knows them. Instep S24 the personal body information such as sex, height, age, etc.,is entered. The apparatus 10 is originally designed for use with awoman, but it may be used with a man if the sex is set to “man” tomeasure the percent fat, body fat mass, etc. for the man.

[0070] Then, the process of entering the date of menstruation (step S3)will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 5. In step S31 thedate of menstruation is entered. In step S32 the number of days duringthe menstruation period, the average number of days during themenstruation period, the maximum number of days during the menstruationperiod and the minimum number of days during the menstruation period arecalculated, based on the date of menstruation just entered and the dateof previous menstruation stored.

[0071] Next, the process of measurement (step S4) will be described indetail with reference to FIG. 6. In step S40 the CPU 25 estimates thephase of physical condition. The date of menstruation entered at stepS23 in FIG. 4 or at step S31 in FIG. 5 is considered as the start dateof menstruation. Initially the number of days elapsed since the date ofprevious menstruation is calculated. If the number of days elapsedexceeds the minimum number of days during the menstruation periodcalculated at step S32 in FIG. 5 then a message is displayed on thedisplay unit 42, informing that “the menstruation day becomes soon. Whenthe menstruation starts, depress the menstruation key and enter the dateof menstruation”. If the menstruation starts on the measurement day oreven if the menstruation already started before the measurement day, butthe measurement has not yet been done, then the menstruation key isdepressed and the date of menstruation is entered, as shown at step S3in FIG. 3. Thereafter, the measurement key is depressed once again forconducting the measurement process.

[0072] Then, by using the equations for estimating the phase of physicalcondition, as shown in FIG. 8, the first date and the final date ofmenstruation is estimated and a check is made to determine whether themeasurement day belongs to the menstruation phase. If not, theestimation and evaluation process continues to be performed through thediet phase, before-and-after ovulation phase, PMS prevention phase andPMS phase until the phase to which the measurement day belongs is found.Each of phases other than the menstruation phase has two or more typesof equations: the top is an equation using the average number of daysduring the menstruation period; the middle is an equation using theminimum number of days during the menstruation period; and the bottom isan equation using the maximum and minimum number of days during themenstruation period. Which of the equations is used may be determined bythe trial-and-error method. When the top equation is used it may bepossible that the measurement day belongs to both diet phase andbefore-and-after ovulation phase. Therefore, if the measurement daybelongs to diet phase then the estimation and evaluation process shouldbe done also for before-and-after ovulation phase. If the measurementday belongs to both phases they are considered as the physical conditionon that day. The average number, maximum number and minimum number ofdays during the menstruation period in the equations are those that arecalculated at step S32 in FIG. 5.

[0073]FIG. 7 shows the phases of physical condition in case where themenstruation occurs in 28-day period. An interval of four days afterstarting the menstruation is considered as the menstruation phase. Aninterval of seven days from the next day is considered as the dietphase. An interval of five days from the next day is considered as thebefore-and-after ovulation phase. An interval of five days from the nextday is considered as the PMS prevention phase. Finally an interval of aweek from the next day is considered as the PMS phase. Any change inphysical condition for each of the phases is shown in this figure.

[0074] In the embodiment as above the menstruation period is dividedinto five phases. However, it may be divided into four phases:menstruation phase, diet phase (follicular phase), PMS prevention phaseand PMS phase. Or alternatively it may be divided into three phases:menstruation phase, diet phase (follicular phase) and luteal phase. Ifthe period is divided into four phases then the number of days for eachphase is calculated using the equations for estimating the phase, asshown in FIG. 19. On the other hand, if the period is divided into threephases then it is calculated using the equations in FIG. 20.

[0075] If the information that one desires to know is that in the phasesuitable for the diet or if there is no need to specify the ovulationday then the diet phase may be combined with the before-and-afterovulation phase to consider as the diet phase. In addition, the PMSprevention phase may be combined with the PMS phase to consider as thePMS phase (luteal phase). In this way the menstruation period may bedivided into three phases. If the information that one desires to knowis of swelling the menstruation period may be divided into four phases.

[0076] For a person who has a possibility of greater change inmenstruation period, if the period is divided into five phase, thenumber of days during any one phase may become very small or may becomezero, as the case may be, that provides no meaning. Therefore, for suchperson, it is preferred that the period is divided into four or threephases.

[0077] In step S41 a message informing that “mount on the impedancemeter” is displayed on the display unit 42 in flashing form. Depressingthe cancel key 41 h returns the program back to step S2.

[0078] In step S42 the person under test mounts on the bioelectricalimpedance meter 20 having the weight meter included therein with thebear feet within 30 seconds in such manner that the toes of left andright soles of the person are in contact with the constant currentsupplying electrodes 21 a and 21 b, and the heels of left and rightsoles of the person are in contact with the voltage measurementelectrodes 22 a and 22 b. Then the weight measuring unit 25 detects theload to start measurement of the body weight. In step S43 the weakhigh-frequncy constant current produced in the high-frequncy constantcurrent circuit 23 is applied to the toes of the person via the constantcurrent supplying electrodes 21 a and 21 b so that it flows through thelower abdominal region of the person between the both feet. Then thevoltage across the voltage measurement electrodes 22 a and 22 b ismeasured with the voltage measuring circuit 24 so that a “BI”(bioelectrical impedance) is derived. In step S44 the percent fat andbody fat mass are calculated, based on the derived BI. If the apparatushas no weight meter included therein it is possible to enter the bodyweight by using the direction key 41 j and the determination key. Theaverage body weight for men and women are stored in the memory unit sothat it is only necessary to increase/decrease the weight value with thedirection key 41 j and to determine the value with the determinationkey. If there is no body fat meter provided in the apparatus therelevant value may be entered manually in the same manner.

[0079] In step S45 the advice information is selected according to thechange in percent fat or body fat mass and the physical condition. FIG.9 shows one example of the advice information. For example, if thechange in percent fat is increased over 0.5% and the physical conditionis positioned in the menstruation phase then the advice information“about some light stretch exercise to increase the metabolism whilerelaxing and about action and nutrition for relieving menstruation pain”is selected. FIG. 9 shows the advice information according to thepercent fat and the physical condition. However, the percent fat may bereplaced with the body fat mass, body weight or pulse rate and/or bloodpressure. In such case, of course, the different advice information isused. The pulse rate and blood pressure may be measured with the pulserate meter and blood pressure meter, respectively. They may be enteredmanually, as in the case of manual entering of the body weight. Theadvice information according to the change in body weight and thephysical condition is substantially same as that according to thepercent fat and the physical condition in FIG. 9. However, in case ofpercent fat, “no change in percent fat” is defined as any change within±0.5%, but in case of body weight, “no change in body weight” is definedas any change within ±0.1%.

[0080]FIG. 21 shows another example of advice information according tothe change of blood pressure or pulse rate and the physical condition.It has been well known in the gynecology that the woman's body has theperiodical change in blood composition and heart blood vessel functionoccurred with the periodical change in sex hormone. Especially inluteral phase, storage of body water occurs, and therefore, there istendency to pressurize the blood vessel and to increase the bloodpressure due to the increased body water. Also in such phase, due toincrease in body temperature and metabolism, the pulse rate also tendsto increase. If such increase in blood pressure and pulse rate becomesexcessive then it may adversely affects the PMS symptom such asheadache, fatigue, languor, etc. If there is rapid increase in bloodpressure found in such phase that the blood pressure is inherentlyunlikely to increase then it is expected that it may have any relationto some disease. Accordingly it is possible to prompt the person to payattention. In case where the menstruation period is divided into threeor four phases the advice information can be displayed in the samemanner as the case where it is divided into five phases.

[0081] In step S45 a check is made to determine whether there is anyrapid change in body weight occurred. It has been known that the properweight reduction rate is 2˜3% of the body weight before weight reductionfor the interval of one month. The rate of change in body weight isdefined by the following equation:

Rate of change=(weight value on measurement day−average value forprevious three days)÷(average value for previous three days)×100

[0082] For example, assuming that the weight values on the measurementday, one day before, two day before and three day before are 50.5 kg,49.7 kg, 49.2 kg, 50.3 kg, respectively, the rate of change in bodyweight equals 1.6%. If no measurement was done on any one of theprevious three days then the average value for remaining two days isused as the average for previous three days. Furthermore, if themeasurement was done on only one of the previous three days then theweight value for that day is used as the average for previous threedays. If the body weight is increased due to disordered meal such asexcessive eat and drink it is preferable to calculate the rate of changerelative to the previous day in order for the person to restore theprevious body weight as soon as possible. However, such method could notbe performed if no measurement was done. Therefore, in order to handlesuch case, the rate of change in body weight is derived, based on theaverage for previous three days.

[0083] Next, description is made to what percentage is defined as therapid rate of change in body weight. According to the probabilitystatistics method the rate of change not less than ±1.5 standarddeviation can not be occurred in the usual case. The measurement of bodyweight was done with certain population and the rate of change atstandard deviation of 1.5 was calculated, which resulted in the rate of1.4%. Accordingly the rate of change not greater than −1.4% and not lessthan 1.4% is defined as the rapid rate of change.

[0084] In the above description the rate of change in body weight hasbeen described, but the rapid rate of change is also determined in thesame manner for the percent fat, body fat mass, blood pressure and pulserate.

[0085] In step 46 the measurement result is displayed. FIG. 10 shows oneexample of display on the display unit 42. The body weight and thepercent fat are displayed on an upper half of the compact size displayarea. In addition, the number of days elapsed since the previousmenstruation and the number of days during previous menstruation periodare displayed on a lower half of the display area. The number of daysduring previous menstruation period may be one during the last timemenstruation period or during the menstruation period of two timesbefore. Alternatively it may be replaced with either one of the average,minimum or maximum number of days during the menstruation period. Thename of phase of physical condition is displayed at the bottom of thedisplay area. In this example the message “in PMS phase” is displayed.If the measurement day belongs to two phases they are considered as thephysical condition on that day. Because of all the necessary informationdisplayed on the compact size display area the person can readilyunderstand all the matter.

[0086]FIG. 11 shows another example of display. In this example theadvice information about the nutrition and action suitable for thephysical condition is displayed. For example, Chinese medicine or herb(or aroma therapy) suitable for the physical condition may be displayed.FIG. 12 shows further example of display in which a graph of body weightwithin the menstruation period, a position information of themeasurement day relative to the date of previous menstruation, thenumber of days elapsed since the date of previous menstruation and thenumber of days during the previous menstruation period are displayed onthe compact size display area. The number of days during the previousmenstruation period may be one during the last time menstruation periodor during the menstruation period of two times before. Alternatively itmay be replaced with either one of the average, minimum or maximumnumber of days during the menstruation period. According to such displayformat the person under test can visually understand the change in bodyweight in view of a period of one month. The graph may show the percentfat, body fat mass, pulse rate or blood pressure, instead of body weight

[0087]FIG. 13 shows the display unit 42 formed by an LCD (liquid crystaldisplay) element and a plurality of LED (light emitting diode) elements.The LCD element is positioned at upper left of the display unit fordisplaying only body weight and percent fat. Under the LCD element theLED elements each marked by a circle (◯) are positioned on a linerepresenting the basal body temperature. One of the LED elements ofwhich position corresponds to the phase of physical condition on thatmeasurement day is operated to flash. In this example it is apparentthat the person under test is positioned at the before-and-afterovulation phase. The LED elements, if used, can reduce the cost of thedisplay unit.

[0088]FIG. 14 shows the LED elements positioned on a straight line.

[0089] Such display format is very useful for understanding the changein physical condition in view of the menstruation period and forimproving the physical condition.

[0090] In step S47, after elapsing the predetermined time interval, amessage “depress the record key for data storage” is displayed on thedisplay unit 42. When depressing the record key 41 c the measurementresult of “BI”, body weight, etc. is stored in the memory unit 44. Thenthe procedure returns to the main program.

[0091] Now, other embodiments of the present invention will bedescribed. FIG. 15 is a perspective external view of an apparatus formeasurement of woman's body according to a second embodiment of thepresent invention. This apparatus 50 as shown in FIG. 15 is differentfrom the apparatus 10 of the first embodiment as shown in FIG. 1 in thata bioelectrical impedance meter with a weight meter included therein isnot separated from, but is integrated with a control box. Constantcurrent supplying electrodes 51 a, 51 b, voltage measurement electrodes52 a, 52 b, operation keys 53 and a display unit 54 are mounted on anupper surface of the apparatus 50.

[0092]FIG. 16 is an external view of an apparatus for measurement ofwoman's body according to a third embodiment of the present invention.This apparatus is different from that of the second embodiment as shownin FIG. 15 in that the hand electrodes 56, 57 are additionally provided.Not only the “BI” between both feet, but also the “BI” between bothhands or between hands and feet can, of course, be measured. For thecomponents equivalent to those in the second embodiment the likereference numbers are used in FIG. 16. The left hand electrode 56 isprovided with a constant current supplying electrode 58 a and a voltagemeasurement electrode 59 a. Similarly, the right hand electrode 57 isprovided with a constant current supplying electrode 58 b and a voltagemeasurement electrode 59 b.

[0093]FIG. 17 is an external view of an apparatus for measurement ofwoman's body according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.This apparatus 70 is designed to measure the “BI” between both hands,which is in contrast to the apparatus of FIG. 15 wherein it measures the“BI” between both feet. This apparatus 70 includes constant currentsupplying electrodes 71 a, 71 b, voltage measurement electrodes 72 a, 72b, a measurement key 73 a, a menstruation key 73 b, an adviceinformation display key 73 c, direction keys 73 d, 73 e and a displayunit 74.

[0094] Upon measurement a thumb finger of a left hand is made contactwith the electrode 71 a and a palm of the left hand is made contact withthe electrode 72 a. In the similar manner a thumb finger of a right handis made contact with the electrode 71 b and a palm of the right hand ismade contact with the electrode 72 b.

[0095]FIG. 18 is an external view of an apparatus for measurement ofwoman's body according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. Ablood pressure/pulse rate meter 80 is connected to the body measurementapparatus 50 of the second embodiment in FIG. 15 via a cable or wirelesscommunication 90 using an infrared ray, etc. Reference number 81 shows acuff for a wrist. In this embodiment the advice information not onlyabout body weight and percent fat, but also about blood pressure andpulse rate can be produced.

[0096] The apparatus may be designed not only for one person, but alsofor plural persons by such configuration that the measurement data forplural persons can be stored and a selection key is provided forselecting any one of the persons.

[0097] In this specification the measurement of percent fat has beendescribed as performed by an impedance method, by way of an example, butthe sebum thickness method using a caliper or other method usingultrasonic wave or near infrared ray may be used.

[0098] In the first to fifth embodiments as above the body weight,percent fat, body fat mass, blood pressure and pulse rate have beendescribed as measured by each measurement unit. However, an alternativeconfiguration may be used wherein the key switches such as the directionkey 41 j, the determination key 41 f, etc., are operated for manualinput of those values. In such case a construction similar to thecontrol box of the first embodiment may be adopted, and therefore, theapparatus of the present invention can be provided in the form ofportable type apparatus such as a calculator, etc.

[0099] It is apparent from the foregoing that an apparatus formeasurement of woman's body according to the present invention providesthe advice information most suitable for body condition of a personunder test on that day, based on the measurement results of body weight,percent fat, body fat mass, etc. and the physical condition occurredwith a period of menstruation, which can make the person under testreadily understood her own physical condition associated with a periodof menstruation and can relieve any uncomfortable feeling due tomenstruation or poor physical condition prior to menstruation.

[0100] Because of automatic calculation and storage of the number ofdays during the period, that is specific to each person under test,without any manual calculation needed, management of own menstruationperiod can easily be done and the recorded data is highly effective forconsulting the obstetrics and gynecology.

[0101] Furthermore, because of combination of the actual measurementresult with the menstruation period for displaying the most effectiveadvice message, unlike the simple management of the number of days, theperson under test can be given the advice information according to thetrue physical condition for relieving any poor physical conditionassociated with menstruation. The measurement is performedsimultaneously with the body weight measurement so that the person undertest is imposed substantially no burden, unlike any prior artmeasurement for menstruation. Therefore, it is very easy for everybodyto continue the measurement with the apparatus of the present inventionfor assisting in understanding and managing the own physical conditionfor longer period of time.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for measurement of woman's body,comprising: a body parameter input unit; a menstruation date input unit;a physical condition phase estimation unit; and a display unit, whereinsaid body parameter input unit enters the body parameter of a personunder test, said menstruation date input unit enters the date ofmenstruation of the person under test, said physical condition phaseestimation unit estimates the phase of physical condition of the personunder test to which the measurement day belongs, based on the date ofmenstruation of the person under test entered by said menstruation dateinput unit and the formulas for estimation of phase of body condition,and said display unit, after determining any change in body parameterbased on the body parameter entered by said body parameter input unit,displays the advice information effective for the person under test topay attention in living on that measurement day, based on the change inbody parameter determined and on the phase of physical condition of theperson under test to which the measurement day belongs and estimated bysaid physical condition phase estimation unit.
 2. An apparatus formeasurement of woman's body according to claim 1 in which said bodyparameter includes at least one of the body weight, percent fat or bodyfat mass, blood pressure and pulse rate.
 3. An apparatus for measurementof woman's body according to claim 1 in which said phase of physicalcondition includes a menstruation phase, a diet phase, abefore-and-after ovulation phase, a PMS prevention phase and a PMSphase.
 4. An apparatus for measurement of woman's body according toclaim 1 in which said phase of physical condition includes amenstruation phase, a diet phase, a PMS prevention phase and a PMSphase.
 5. An apparatus for measurement of woman's body according toclaim 1 in which said phase of physical condition includes amenstruation phase, a diet phase and a PMS phase.
 6. An apparatus formeasurement of woman's body according to any one of claims 1 to 5 inwhich said change in body parameter includes a rate of change in bodyparameter.
 7. An apparatus for measurement of woman's body according toany one of claims 1 to 6 in which said advice information includes theinformation about nutrition to be ingested by the person under test andabout action to be conducted by the person under test
 8. An apparatusfor measurement of woman's body, comprising: at least one of a bodyweight input unit, a body fat input unit for entering body far rate orbody fat mass, a blood pressure input unit and a pulse rate input unit;a physical condition estimation unit; and a display unit, wherein saidphysical condition estimation unit estimates the physical condition onthe measurement day, based on the date of menstruation entered and theformulas for estimation of phase of body condition, said display unitdisplays various kinds of advice information about an action, nutritionand the like optimized to the physical condition on the measurement day,based on at least one of the change in body weight provided by the bodyweight input unit, the change in percent fat or body fat mass providedby the body fat input unit, the change in blood pressure provided by theblood pressure input unit and the change in pulse rate provided by thepulse rate input unit, as well as based on physical condition estimated.9. An apparatus for measurement of woman's body according to claim 8 inwhich said physical condition is at least one of a menstruation phase, adiet phase, a before-and-after ovulation phase, a PMS prevention phaseand a PMS phase.
 10. An apparatus for measurement of woman's bodyaccording to claim 8 in which said physical condition is at least one ofa menstruation phase, a diet phase and a luteal phase.
 11. An apparatusfor measurement of woman's body according to any one of claims 8 to 10in which said body weight input unit includes keys for manually enteringthe body weight value.
 12. An apparatus for measurement of woman's bodyaccording to any one of claims 8 to 10 in which said body weight inputunit is a body weight meter.
 13. An apparatus for measurement of woman'sbody according to any one of claims 8 to 12 in which said body fat inputunit includes keys for manually entering percent fat or body fat mass.14. An apparatus for measurement of woman's body according to any one ofclaims 8 to 12 in which said body fat input unit is a body fat meter.15. An apparatus for measurement of woman's body according to any one ofclaims 8 to 14 in which said blood pressure input unit includes keys formanually entering blood pressure value.
 16. An apparatus for measurementof woman's body according to any one of claims 8 to 14 in which saidblood pressure input unit is a blood pressure meter.
 17. An apparatusfor measurement of woman's body according to any one of claims 8 to 16in which said pulse rate input unit includes keys for manually enteringpulse rate.
 18. An apparatus for measurement of woman's body accordingto any one of claims 8 to 16 in which said pulse rate input unit is apulse rate meter.
 19. An apparatus for measurement of woman's bodyaccording to any one of claims 8 to 18 in which said display unitincludes an LCD element that displays at least one of body weight,percent fat, body fat mass, blood pressure and pulse rate, and aplurality of LED elements that display the physical condition of awoman.
 20. An apparatus for measurement of woman's body according to anyone of claims 8 to 19 in which said display unit includes a display areaof compact size on which at least one of body weight, percent fat, bodyfat mass, blood pressure and pulse rate; as well as the measurement day,position of the measurement day relative to the menstruation day, thenumber of days elapsed since the menstruation day up to the measurementday, the number of days during the previous menstruation period and thename of physical condition are displayed.
 21. An apparatus formeasurement of woman's body according to any one of claims 8 to 20 inwhich said display unit includes a display area of compact size on whicha graph representing at least one of the change in body weight, changein percent fat, change in body fat mass, change in blood pressure andchange in pulse rate during a menstruation period; as well as themeasurement day, position of the measurement day relative to themenstruation day, the number of days elapsed since the menstruation dayup to the measurement day, and the number of days during the previousmenstruation period are displayed.